Conservationist Mabel Osgood Wright chronicled the landscape and people of Fairfield in her photographs. An exhibit of her work, âÄúPicturing Fairfield: The Photographs of Mabel Osgood Wright,âÄù is on view through Sept. 16 at the Fairfield Museum and History Center.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Conservationist Mabel Osgood Wright chronicled the landscape and...

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ìGrowing Up in Fairfield: Memories and Milestones,î an exhibition about growing up in Fairfield in the 1940s and 1950s, will be on display at the Fairfield Museum and History Center through Oct. 2.

An exhibit highlighting what it was like to grow up in Fairfield in the 1940s and 1950s has opened at the Fairfield Museum and History Center. Along with the trip down memory lane, another exhibit -- displaying the photographs of early conservationist Mabel Osgood Wright -- has also opened at the museum for a summer showing.

"Growing Up in Fairfield: Memories and Milestones," is about the time period when the idea of "the teenage years," as a distinct phase of life first took shape. The exhibit displays rare mementos of the time period including yearbooks, letter jackets and photographs. To provide more historical perspective, the exhibit also includes items from the 1800s, showing how 19th-century children's lives compare and influenced later eras. The exhibit runs through Oct. 2.

"Picturing Fairfield: The Photographs of Mabel Osgood Wright," provides a nostalgic and sentimental look at Fairfield's homes, gardens, people and local countryside at the turn of the 20th century, just as the U. S. was shifting from an agrarian to an industrial and urban country. From early on, photography was instrumental to Wright's conservationist efforts, a means to document the disappearing landscape around her. Wright established the Connecticut Audubon Society and founded Birdcraft Sanctuary as a refuge for birds in Fairfield. The exhibition is on view through Sept. 16.

A Museum After Dark program, "Fairfield's Audubon Legacy," will be offered on Thursday, July 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. in conjunction with the photograph exhibit. The free program is co-sponsored with the Connecticut Audubon Birdcraft Museum. Wine and cheese will be served.

Another special event, "Romance in the Garden," the re-enactment of the wedding between John Hancock, the signer of the Constitution, and Dorothy Quincy, will take place at the Burr Mansion on Saturday, Aug. 23 from 4 to 6 p.m. Built in 1790 by Thaddeus Burr, the Burr Homestead was one of the cultural and social centers of Fairfield. The ceremony will be followed by lemonade and cookies in the Burr Gardens.

The museum is also offering walking tours of the Historic Town Green, Saturdays, July 19 and Aug. 23 at 2 p.m., free for members and $5 for nonmembers. Tours start at the museum. Docent-led tours of the 1750 Odgen House, 1520 Bronson Road are conducted every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. through September. The cost is $3; members are free.

For more information, visit Fairfieldhistory.org or call 203-259-1598. The museum, 370 Beach Road, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors. Members of the museum and children are free. Admission on Mondays and Tuesdays is free.